The Case of the Missing Detective
by Krista Perry
Summary: A Meitantei (Detective) Conan fanfic: Someone knows Conan's secret, and now the high-school detective-turned-7-year-old-child finds himself fighting for his life against a mysterious assailant.
1. An Old Murder Comes to Light

Hi everyone. ^_^  
  
By way of brief introduction -- I've been a fan of Sir Arthur  
Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories since I was in grade  
school, and I've been a fan of anime for almost that long. So  
stumbling across Detective Conan as I did was the perfect meeting  
of two of my favorite genres! On top of the joy of discovering a  
great new series (well... new to *me*...), it also sparked my  
fanfiction muse.  
  
What follows is the first chapter of my very first Detective  
Conan fanfic. By way of warning for those familiar with the  
series, it contains spoilers up to volume 26 of the manga, and  
can be considered to be an alternate time line or break-off from  
the series at that point. It is also sprinkled with a few random  
Japanese honorifics. Any mistakes in canon or characterization  
are entirely my own fault.  
  
I hope you like it. Feedback is welcome and appreciated.  
  
The Case of the Missing Detective  
A Detective Conan Fanfic  
by Krista Perry  
  
File 01: An Old Murder Comes to Light  
  
~*~  
  
  
For the fifth time that evening, Ran sighed heavily over the  
remains of her ice cream. The incessant, distracted tap of her  
spoon against her empty bowl echoed through the small dining area  
of the Mouri residence.  
  
"Ran-nee-chan?"  
  
Startled from her preoccupation, Ran looked across the  
dinner table to where Conan knelt. The young boy had paused in  
licking the chocolate syrup off of his spoon and was eyeing her  
curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You keep sighing."  
  
Ran blinked, and forced a rather guilty smile. "N...  
nothing! I'm just thinking, that's all."  
  
Conan frowned skeptically, a messy circle of sticky  
chocolate-stained vanilla framing his pursed mouth. Ran  
suppressed the sudden urge to lean over and wipe his face clean  
with her napkin.  
  
"Thinking about what?" he asked. He was looking at her with  
that familiar, intense look -- the one that seemed to pierce  
right through her, and see right into her soul.  
  
She shrugged, and looked down at her fingernails as if they  
had suddenly become very interesting. "Just... things," she  
said, hedging.   
  
"What things?" Conan persisted innocently, his eyes wide and  
inquisitive behind his huge glasses.  
  
Ran sighed again, frustrated that Conan wouldn't let the  
subject drop. What could she tell him? That he had caught her  
while she was in the midst of once again entertaining the  
ridiculous fantasy that he was actually Shinichi? That she was  
once again hoping against all rational explanation that the  
brilliant high-school detective, the seventeen-year old young man  
that she had practically grown up with, had somehow been turned  
into this grade-schooler sitting across the table from her?  
  
It was impossible. The stuff of cheap, cheesy science  
fiction. It was completely stupid for her to keep feeling this  
way, and she knew it.  
  
But... it was better than believing that Shinichi had just  
abandoned her without a word.  
  
The only problem was, she had proof that her suspicions were  
false. Less than a month had passed since Shinichi had returned  
to her, even if it was only for a few hours, and at that time,  
she had even seen Shinichi and Conan in the same room together...  
  
...except that Conan had been wearing a hospital mask,  
because he had a cold, and he hadn't acted at *all* like himself  
the entire time Shinichi was around...  
  
And Shinichi had only been around for less than a full day.   
Less than 24 hours, during which Ran had felt the brief joy of  
thinking that he had finally come back to her, to stay. But then  
he was gone again, without even saying goodbye, just like the  
first time. He was gone without a trace, leaving her heartbroken  
and alone at the restaurant where they were having dinner; where  
he had promised to tell her something very important.  
  
Not important enough for him to keep from running off again,  
apparently...  
  
But then who should show up at the restaurant out of the  
blue, but Conan. Conan, no longer wearing a hospital mask.   
Conan, acting like himself again... and looking almost as  
heartbroken as she felt. Conan, bearing the news that once again  
Shinichi had to leave. Conan, desperately pleading with her to  
wait for him. For Shinichi...  
  
And she couldn't help but wonder.  
  
There were so many times when she looked at Conan... and all  
she could see was Shinichi. Those times when she would look into  
the young 7-year-old face, beyond the too-large glasses... and  
see the same old eyes that she had grown up with her whole life.   
Eyes, bright blue, and sparkling with a fierce intelligence far  
beyond his apparent tender years.  
  
Like now. Sitting across the table from her, with half of  
his dessert on his face making him look even more like a little  
kid... even so, his penetrating, questioning gaze held her,  
refusing to let her go until she answered.  
  
These were the times when her impossible suspicions actually  
felt more real and tangible than any evidence or logic presented  
to the contrary. These were the times she wanted to reach out,  
take Conan by his shoulders, look him in the eye, and say, "I  
know that you are really Shinichi. Why won't you tell me the  
truth? Why won't you tell me what happened to you?" And, most  
importantly, "Why can't you come back to me?"  
  
Because she felt for certain that he *would* come back -- as  
himself, and not the diminutive child before her -- if only he  
could.  
  
But she couldn't ask Conan those things. Because she had  
asked before, and every single time she came close to even  
voicing her suspicions, a new piece of evidence would crop up,  
proving her wrong. Too-convenient evidence, always showing up at  
the perfect moment, proving to her once again that her belief  
that Conan and Shinichi were one and the same was nothing but  
pure foolishness.  
  
Why, then, did the evidence feel so wrong to her, and  
this... this *impossibility* feel so right?  
  
"Ran-nee-chan..." Conan's frown had softened to concern at  
her continued silence.  
  
She straightened and laughed self-consciously, brushing her  
hair away from her face. "Hey, what's with that look? I told  
you, I'm just thinking."  
  
Conan didn't buy her act for one moment, and she could tell.   
"Well..." he said quietly. "You must have been thinking about  
something really sad."  
  
The sadness in his own voice surprised her; it seemed to  
echo the exact feelings of her heart. Ran looked at Conan, then,  
and saw only Shinichi in the depths of his eyes.  
  
She held the boy's gaze for a long, lonely moment. *If I  
tell you that I'm thinking about Shinichi,* she thought. *If I  
tell you how badly I'm missing him right now... I'll get a phone  
call from him tonight. Shinichi will call and tell me that he's  
still working hard on a difficult case, but that he wanted to  
talk to me and cheer me up. And when I ask him how he knew I was  
feeling down, he'll say he just had a feeling...*  
  
"Why..." Conan paused, almost as if he was afraid to ask the  
question. "Why are you sad, Ran-nee-chan?"  
  
A small, melancholy smile turned up the corner of Ran's  
mouth. "If I seem sad," she lied, "it's only because of the math  
test I have tomorrow." Conan blinked, looking at her with  
obvious skepticism, so she widened her smile, and shrugged  
carelessly. "And... I was just thinking about how badly I'm  
going to do on it, because I'm sitting here eating ice cream with  
you instead of studying."  
  
"Oh." Conan didn't sound very convinced, but he smiled a  
little anyway. "Well, then, what are you waiting for? I guess  
you'd better go study."  
  
Ran nodded, relieved that she had successfully diverted  
Conan away from her true train of thought. Stretching her arms  
above her head, she yawned dramatically. "You're right. If I  
sit around moping about it, I'll never get anything done." She  
stood and gathered up the dishes from the table, taking Conan's  
empty bowl right out from under his nose.  
  
He squawked in protest. "Oi! I wasn't finished with that."  
  
Raising an eyebrow at him, she plucked the spoon from his  
hand to add to her pile, eliciting yet another indignant squawk  
from the boy. "There's nothing left on your spoon," she said,  
"and I'm not going to let you lick the bowl clean, if that's what  
you wanted."  
  
Conan pouted, sticking out his lower lip, and Ran laughed in  
spite of herself. The illusion of Shinichi was shattered,  
leaving only a petulant little boy in his place, and she didn't  
know if that made her feel better, or worse.   
  
"So," she said, brushing those thoughts aside as she put the  
dishes into the sink to wash later. "Do you have any homework?"  
  
Conan shrugged, quickly recovering from his momentary sulk.   
"No," he said, standing up and wandering over to the television.   
He always liked to watch the news around this time, to see if any  
new mysterious crimes had been committed in the Tokyo area. "I  
finished everything at school today."  
  
Ran shook her head knowingly. Conan *never* brought home  
any homework. But then, how hard could the 1st grade be to a  
high school genius?  
  
*Argh, there I go again,* she thought irritably. If she  
wanted to improve her mood at all, she *had* to stop thinking  
like that.  
  
"Well then," she said, "I'll be in my room studying if you  
need anything."  
  
Conan was already absorbed in watching the news. "Okay," he  
said distractedly.  
  
And so, forcing all thoughts of Conan and Shinichi from her  
mind, Ran turned and walked down the hall to her room. Maybe, if  
she was lucky, she could gather her turbulent thoughts enough to  
focus on her school work. She actually did have a math test  
tomorrow, after all.  
  
~*~  
  
Sitting in front of the TV, Conan watched Ran walk down the  
hall out of the corner of his eye. Only after he saw her safely  
disappear into her room, and heard the click of her door closing,  
did he groan and slump forward forlornly, resting his forehead in  
his hands.  
  
"I don't know how much longer I can take this," he  
whispered.  
  
It was agony, being so close to Ran, and yet not being able  
to tell her who he really was. To know how she felt about him,  
and how he felt about *her*... To be so close, and yet so  
infinitely separate... It was driving him crazy.   
  
Normally, he could handle the stress of his unusual  
condition. Conan found that he was usually able to distract  
himself from his miserable and annoying plight by tagging along  
with Mouri on his cases, and solving the mysteries that were so  
often beyond the man's abilities. But Ran's father hadn't had a  
new case in over a week, and the dry spell in work had given  
Conan far too much time to dwell on his own problems.  
  
Being stuck in a 7-year-old body, and living with his  
girlfriend and her father being one of the biggest...  
  
He wanted to tell Ran the truth. He had *tried* to tell her  
a few weeks ago, when Ai had given him the antidote to the APTX-  
4869 drug that had reduced him to this permanent state of  
childhood. With Ai's experimental antidote, he had finally, for  
the first time in months, been restored to his true 17-year-old  
self. Finally, he could be with Ran, not as Conan, but as  
Shinichi.  
  
He didn't know it at the time, but the antidote was only  
temporary. Ai had told him that there was a possibility that it  
was unstable, but he had ignored her, too caught up in the  
euphoria of being back to his normal self. And then, thinking  
that he had all the time in the world, he had wasted the precious  
moments he had in his own true form by solving a murder at a  
restaurant -- the very restaurant to which he had taken Ran out  
on a date, all so that he could tell her the truth. He had left  
Ran at the dining table, running after someone else's scream -- a  
mystery that was just begging to be solved -- telling her that he  
would be right back.  
  
When he returned, he was going to tell her. Everything.   
About the Dark Syndicate that had poisoned him, leaving him for  
dead. About how the poison, rather than killing him, had instead  
reversed the cell growth in his body, literally turning back the  
time on his physical clock, and shrinking him back into  
childhood. He was going to tell her about how he was forced to  
hide in plain sight in his child body, for fear that if the Dark  
Syndicate found out he was alive, they would come and kill him  
and anyone who knew about him and the drug. And he was going to  
tell Ran about how he couldn't tell her any of this before,  
because he was afraid of putting her life at risk, and he felt he  
couldn't protect her properly with his child body...  
  
But most important of all, he was going to tell her the  
truth of how he felt about her.  
  
He solved the murder mystery as usual, but by then, his time  
was up. To his surprise and horror, as he was detailing the  
last of the evidence to Inspector Megure, the bone-melting agony  
of the change came upon him. Not long after, he found himself in  
the men's room of the restaurant, shrinking back into Conan  
before he had the chance to return; before he had a chance to see  
Ran again; before he had the chance tell her *anything*...   
  
Thinking about it now... remembering... Conan could only  
hold his head in his hands, with the ache of unshed tears burning  
behind his eyes, and wish he had done things differently.  
  
*Why did I have to go off and solve that murder? I could  
have left it to the police. Inspector Megure and Officer Takagi  
were both there, they could have handled it... Maybe they could  
have handled it... Well... surely they would have figured it out  
eventually...  
  
*Why? Why didn't I just stay with Ran?*  
  
That was the problem with hindsight, he thought. When it  
came to crime, and murders, and the mysteries of human deceit, he  
was a master at uncovering the truth. When it came to himself,  
and his own personal relationships, he was as blind as a bat.   
What he wouldn't give to have that precious time with Ran  
again...  
  
Well, it was too late now. He was back in the same stupid  
situation he had been in before, only now it was worse, because  
he had tasted, if only for one day, the freedom of being himself  
again... and being himself, with Ran. Something he had taken  
horribly for granted before his unwilling transformation.  
  
He sighed, taking off his father's glasses, and rubbing his  
eyes with a small fist. One thing was certain -- dwelling on his  
mistakes was not going to make him feel better any time soon.  
  
Loosening the red bow tie around his neck, he looked down at  
the voice synthesizer that Dr. Agasa had hidden within the  
material, and double-checked to make sure the settings were  
calibrated for his... Shinichi's voice. In a half hour or so, he  
would pretend to go to bed, then slip out the second-story  
window, slide down the drain pipe to the street, and go to the  
phone booth a few blocks away. And then he would call Ran, and  
speak to her with Shinichi's voice, and hopefully make her feel  
better. After the scene at dinner, it didn't take a great  
detective to figure out why she was feeling so unhappy, after  
all.  
  
He knew exactly how she felt.  
  
Besides, talking to her like that over the phone with his  
own voice almost made him feel normal again.  
  
After checking his watch to plan what time he would fake  
getting tired, he settled back onto a cushion, and let his  
attention wander back to the evening news on the television.  
  
*Human interest story on northern fishing villages...  
boring. Prime minister discussing the economy...* Conan began  
idly flipping channels with the remote. *Boring... boring...  
sheesh, when did Tokyo suddenly become so crime-free?* he  
wondered irritably.  
  
His musings were interrupted by a knock on the door.   
Grateful for the distraction from the lack-luster news, he  
answered, only to find himself looking up in surprise at  
Inspector Megure and Officer Takagi.  
  
Looking up... that was one thing he'd always hated. Until  
his growth spurt in junior high, he had always been one of the  
shortest kids in his class. He had been so glad to literally  
outgrow that period of his life, and now he was right back to  
being the littlest of the little again. His annoyance at being  
so short, however, was dwarfed by the sudden surge of hope he  
gained at seeing the inspector. If the man was here to see  
Mouri, that might mean that there was a case for him to work on  
again.  
  
"Inspector Megure, Officer Takagi," Conan said, unable to  
conceal his genuine delight at seeing them. "Come in! Mouri-  
ojisan isn't here -- he's running an errand for a neighbor lady -  
- but he should be back any minute, and you're welcome to  
wait..."  
  
"Actually, Conan..." the inspector said hesitantly, and  
Conan blinked. The man's countenance was unusually grave.   
Officer Takagi, standing behind him, looked similarly upset.   
Conan immediately sobered, realizing that the inspector was here  
for something much more serious than simply asking help on a  
case.  
  
"What is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?"  
  
The inspector cleared his throat. "Is... is Ran here? We  
need to talk to her... about a rather unusual matter that has  
just recently come to light."  
  
Conan didn't like the sound of that at all. But at least it  
didn't sound like an emergency. "She's studying," he said.   
"I'll go get her." He ran down the hall to her room and knocked  
on the door.  
  
"Come in, Conan."  
  
Conan opened the door a crack and peeked in to see Ran sitting at  
her desk, pouring over her math book. She looked up at him and  
smiled. "Did you need something?"  
  
Conan swallowed. "Inspector Megure and Officer Takagi are  
here. They want to talk to you about something."  
  
Ran blinked in surprise. "Me? I wonder what for." She  
pushed herself up from her chair, and followed Conan down the  
hall to the living area, where the policemen were waiting.  
  
When she saw their expressions, her face turned gray with  
sudden dread. "Inspector," she said. "What's wrong? My father,  
is he--"  
  
Megure held up his hand. "No, no," he assured her. "Mouri-  
kun is just fine, as far as we know. Conan just told us that he  
was running an errand." He and Officer Takagi exchanged a tense  
look, which did not go unnoticed by Conan or Ran. "We're  
actually here on a rather strange business..."  
  
Ran nodded, her relief over her father's safety apparent,  
but her eyes still reflecting worry over the policemen's anxious  
manner. "Please," she said, gesturing to her father's consulting  
couches. "Sit down." When they were settled, she looked at  
Inspector Megure apprehensively. "What is it that you wanted to  
talk to me about?"  
  
Megure reached up and tugged on his thick moustache  
uncomfortably. "Well, it's like this, Ran. Ah, how should I  
begin?" He sighed heavily, before looking up to meet her eyes.   
"Do you remember several months ago, last spring, when you were  
at the amusement park on the night of the roller coaster murder?"  
  
Conan stiffened as an icy wind of fear blew right through  
his soul, chilling him to the bone. That night... that was the  
night of...  
  
He looked up at Ran, to see her looking right back at him,  
her eyes wide in her pale face. "Yes," she said, glancing back  
at the inspector. "Yes, of course I remember."  
  
"You were there with Shinichi Kudo, correct?"  
  
"Y... yes."  
  
"And did he walk you home that night?"  
  
Ran's face became, if possible, even more white. "No... no,  
he... he saw something suspicious in the shadows, and ran off  
after it, asking me to walk home by myself, and that was the last  
time I..." She broke off and swallowed hard. "Inspector, tell  
me, what is this all about?" She glanced at Conan again for a  
brief moment, fear and uncertainty written across her features.  
"Has... has something happened to Shinichi?"  
  
The inspector closed his eyes. "That is what we're trying  
to figure out, actually. You see..." He looked up and regarded  
her gravely. "A few hours ago, we received an anonymous call  
from a man who claims that, on that very night..."  
  
Conan felt his heart beating in his throat, thudding loudly  
in his ears as he heard the inspector speak.  
  
"On that very night... he murdered Shinichi Kudo, the high-  
school detective."  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
To be continued.  
  
Next:   
The Case of the Missing Detective  
File 02: The Death of Shinichi 


	2. The Death of Shinichi

The Case of the Missing Detective  
A Detective Conan Fanfic  
by Krista Perry  
  
File 02: The Death of Shinichi  
  
~*~  
  
  
"A few hours ago, we received an anonymous call from a man  
who claims that, on that very night... he murdered Shinichi Kudo,  
the high-school detective."  
  
Ran stared numbly at Inspector Megure. She was silent for a  
long moment, her face pale and incredulous, as if she was waiting  
for the man to tell her that it was all some sort of sick joke.  
When he merely returned her gaze solemnly, waiting for her  
reaction... she forced a tremulous smile.  
  
"That... That's impossible," she said, and noticed, to her  
dismay, that her voice was thin and shaky, with a tinge of  
hysteria lurking at the edges. "Shinichi... he's not... He  
can't be. Right, Conan?"  
  
She glanced down at the boy for reassurance, and blinked as  
she saw the look of pure, thunderstruck horror on his face as he  
stared at Inspector Megure. He acted as if he hadn't even heard  
her.  
  
"Conan?" she whispered weakly.  
  
"Miss Ran..." Officer Takagi shifted awkwardly in his seat.   
"I realize this sounds strange, but--"  
  
Ran turned on him fiercely. "It's not strange, it's  
*impossible,*" she repeated, looking at young officer, sudden  
anger filling her. "I mean... I've talked to him since then.   
I've seen him! Last month, when he showed up at my high school  
play. And then he went to school the next day, and *everyone* at  
school saw him, and he took me out to dinner that night at the  
rooftop restaurant..." Ran's eyes widened with realization as  
she looked at Officer Takagi. "And you both were there, because  
of the murder." She turned accusing eyes on Inspector Megure,  
who was looking slightly flustered in the face of her vehemence.   
"You were there at the restaurant that night, and you *told* me,  
the next time I saw you, that Shinichi had helped you solve the  
case. You *saw* him that night! So how can you say that he was  
murdered last spring?!"  
  
Inspector Megure pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and  
mopped his wide brow. "Ran, please. We are both on the same  
side here."  
  
But Ran would not be mollified. "How can you say that, when  
you're taking this... this *sick prank* seriously? You know as  
well as I do that Shinichi isn't dead!"  
  
"Ran," said Megure, "that is why we are here. That day last  
month, when we all saw him, you spent the most time with him,  
correct?"  
  
Ran blinked, taken off guard. "That's right," she said. So  
they admitted that they had seen Shinichi as well, and yet they  
were still concerned over this anonymous tip?  
  
"Out of anyone, you probably know Shinichi best, don't you?"  
asked Officer Takagi.  
  
She felt confused at all the twists the conversation was  
taking. "Well... yes. I know... I mean, we grew up  
together..." She trailed off, uncertain as to where they were  
heading with his new line of questioning.  
  
Inspector Megure leaned forward and regarded her intently.   
"What we need to know is this. And I'm sorry, Ran, but it is a  
difficult question." He sighed heavily. "Are you certain that  
the person you saw last month, and spent time with... Are you  
absolutely certain that he was Shinichi?"  
  
Ran felt her mouth go dry.  
  
Absolutely certain?   
  
The night of the roller coaster murder... she remembered it  
clearly. She remembered how Shinichi had run off after a shadowy  
figure at the edges of the amusement park; how she had tried to  
chase after him, but her shoelace had snapped, and he had waved  
her off cheerfully, saying that he would see her soon.  
  
But, as she watched him disappear into the darkness, she had  
felt the worst premonition... a feeling in the deepest parts of  
her soul that she would never see him again.  
  
But she *had* seen him... for one brief day last month...  
and then he had disappeared again.  
  
He called her on the phone, of course, but simply hearing  
his voice over a phone line... There was always something  
detached and surreal about their conversations. He seemed like  
his usual self, but whenever she would press him to come see her,  
he would be evasive and make excuses.  
  
And then there were her suspicions about Conan.  
  
She felt so confused, as if the world had just stopped  
making sense on that night last spring when Shinichi first  
disappeared. How could she be absolutely certain of anything  
anymore?  
  
She looked over at Conan again. The boy was pale and  
silent, looking up at her with wide, anxious eyes. Shinichi's  
eyes.  
  
At that moment, she didn't know what to believe.  
  
"What are you saying?" she whispered, her gaze not leaving  
Conan's.  
  
Megure reached up to tug on his moustache in an unconscious  
gesture of anxiety. "So... you *aren't* certain that he was  
Shinichi?"  
  
"I didn't say that." Ran tore her gaze away from Conan, and  
looked up at the inspector, suddenly feeling incredibly weary.   
"But you obviously have some reason to believe that he *wasn't*  
Shinichi. Why? How is that possible? What did this 'anonymous  
tipster' say to you?"  
  
Officer Takagi bit his lip. "Miss Ran, if you would just--"  
  
"No!" she said, frustration and fear and anger sharpening  
her voice. "I'm not answering your question. You come to me,  
telling me that there is the possibility that Shinichi is dead --  
that he's been dead since last spring. You say that the person  
that I thought was Shinichi all this time actually isn't. Until  
you give me a good reason to believe that this isn't anything  
more than a prank, I have nothing more to say to you."  
  
And next to her, she heard Conan's small, agonized whisper.  
"Ran..."  
  
Inspector Megure sighed. "I apologize, Ran. I realize that  
this is very hard, and that we have been unfair. You must  
understand, we are just as upset about this situation as you  
are."  
  
"I seriously doubt that," Ran said.  
  
Megure blinked. "Um... yes. Again, sorry."  
  
"Inspector," said Conan, and everyone looked at him. The  
boy's expression was tense and serious, and Ran thought she saw  
the barest glimmer of fear in his eyes. "Please. What did the  
tipster say?"  
  
Megure sighed heavily. "He said that on the night of the  
roller coaster murder last spring, he led Shinichi Kudo away from  
his girlfriend by acting suspiciously, then lured him to an  
isolated area behind some buildings near the entrance of the  
park. He then... smashed Kudo over the head with a metal rod,  
knocking him unconscious, after which the man claims... to have  
force-fed him poison, just to make his death sure."  
  
Ran swallowed back a cry of anguish. She looked at Conan,  
and saw his blue eyes burning intensely behind his glasses.  
  
"But if that's true," said Conan quietly, "then why was a  
body never recovered?"  
  
"The man claims that he waited until the police left the  
area, then hid the body in the trunk of his car," said Officer  
Takagi, looking at Conan. "He said that he drove to the  
mountains and buried the body in the woods."  
  
"Did he say why he killed him?" Conan's voice was carefully  
neutral.  
  
Ran looked at Conan, aghast. He was acting as if it was  
possible. As if he accepted that Shinichi had really been  
murdered that night...   
  
"He claims that it was revenge," said Megure, "but for what,  
he wouldn't say. He would only say that, when he first...  
committed the act, he didn't want to get caught, but that since  
then, he had heard rumors that Kudo was still around, and so he  
decided to come out and make the truth known."  
  
Conan blinked. "And what truth is that, exactly?"  
  
Megure pinched the bridge of his nose, and glanced at  
Officer Takagi wearily. "Takagi? You took the call."  
  
The young officer blinked, taken aback momentarily, and he  
looked back and forth between Conan and Ran. "Um... Well... as  
we said, he claims that he... murdered Shinichi Kudo. And that  
Shinichi's father, Yusaku Kudo... is trying to cover up the  
murder by impersonating his son, so that he can conduct his own  
investigation without involving the police."  
  
Both Conan and Ran's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" Conan  
exclaimed.  
  
"Wait just a moment!" Ran looked back and forth between the  
two officers incredulously. "Let me see if I have this straight.   
You're trying to tell me that all this time, since last spring...  
all the phone calls... the... the date at the restaurant... It  
was Shinichi's *father?*"  
  
Inspector Megure shook his head wearily. "That's only what  
the man claims. We don't have any evidence that it's true."  
  
"Well, it's *not* true," Ran said. "I know Shinichi, and I  
think I know the difference between a middle-aged man and a high  
school student!" She looked suddenly relieved and triumphant.   
"That settles it, then. This is nothing more than a stupid  
prank!"  
  
Megure regarded her intently. "That is what I would believe  
as well, if I did not know Yusaku Kudo."  
  
Ran blinked. She glanced at Conan for reassurance, but the  
boy was sitting, silent and stunned. Suddenly uncertain again,  
she turned to Megure. "What... what do you mean?"  
  
"Before Kudo left the country a few years ago to work on his  
mystery novels, he would sometimes help us with cases, in much  
the same way Shinichi did later. However, he was much lower-  
profile than Shinichi. He often worked anonymously, and  
sometimes would even work under cover and in disguise, without  
informing us of his plans or intentions." Megure shook his head.   
"I recall one particular murder case at a high school, where the  
suspects included most of the women's volleyball team. To get  
the evidence he needed without arousing anyone's suspicion, he...  
well, he disguised himself as one of the team members."  
  
Conan twitched violently, and stared at the inspector bug-  
eyed. "He... he *what?*" he asked hoarsely.  
  
Ran's eyes widened slightly, and her cheeks flushed pink.  
  
"He fooled everyone," Megure continued, looking rather  
embarrassed himself. "I found it amazing that a high school girl  
had managed to solve the mystery, but then afterwards, she... uh,  
he came up to me and revealed his true identity. Kudo had pulled  
off the disguise with the use of expertly-applied makeup and  
latex, and other, well..." The inspector cleared his throat.   
"If I recall correctly, he was about 32 years old at the time.   
But until he took off that wig, he looked just like a high school  
girl."  
  
Conan, still looking stupefied, made a small, strangled  
noise.  
  
"So you can see now," Megure continued, looking at Ran  
seriously, "why I needed to talk to you. If this tip is just a  
prank -- and I pray that it is -- it was still perpetrated by  
someone who knows what you and Shinichi were doing that night at  
the amusement park last spring, and he also knows of Yusaku Kudo,  
and his investigating techniques. Even if he didn't kill  
Shinichi, as he claims, he apparently harbors a great deal of  
animosity for the Kudo family, and could very well be a threat.   
It may even be that the reason Shinichi has been so scarce, ever  
since that night, is that he is in hiding."  
  
Ran had gone pale again, the flush draining from her face.   
"I see," she said. "Or... or it could be that..." Her voice  
shook, and she trailed off, unable to complete the thought.  
  
But Megure nodded, regarding her with sympathy. "Yes. It  
could be that the anonymous tipster is telling the truth. The  
details he gave us... it was enough to convince me that  
*something* is going on."  
  
"But..." Tears were gathering in the corners of Ran's eyes.   
"But... no. We saw him. Shinichi can't be dead, we *saw*  
him..."  
  
"Shinichi is almost the spitting image of his father,"  
Megure said, tugging at his moustache in distress. "It may seem  
fantastic, but I believe that it wouldn't take much for a master  
of disguise like Yusaku Kudo to impersonate his own son. Which  
is why I ask you again. That day last month, when Shinichi  
returned... are you absolutely certain that it was him?"  
  
"I... I don't..." Ran clenched her hands into fists on her  
lap. In her peripheral vision, she could see Conan watching her,  
his young face tight with anguish.   
  
And suddenly, a cold realization swept through her.   
"Shinichi said... that he needed to tell me something very  
important," she whispered. "I was hoping that he might want to  
tell me that he..." She stopped, and shuddered, gulping back a  
sob. "But... if it was actually Kudo-san, maybe... maybe he  
wanted to tell me about what happened to Shinichi... and maybe he  
changed his mind, and that's why he left the restaurant after the  
murder without seeing me..."  
  
"Ran... nee-chan," Conan said, and there was a tinge of  
desperation in his voice. "You don't know that. You're jumping  
to conclusions."  
  
"Am I?" She looked down at him, tears slipping down her  
cheeks. "Then why else would Shinichi leave me like that,  
without even a goodbye? Why else would he avoid me for so long?   
Tell me! What else could he possibly be doing?"  
  
*Tell me, Conan,* she pleaded silently, as she looked into  
his eyes. *Give me a reason to believe that the tipster is  
lying. Give me a reason to believe that Shinichi is still alive,  
and not months dead, lying buried in an unmarked grave somewhere  
in the mountains...*  
  
"He's..." Conan swallowed miserably, shaken by the sight of  
her tears. "...on a case," he finished weakly.  
  
And she laughed bitterly. "*What* case?" she cried,  
pounding her fists on her lap. "He's been on this so-called case  
for months! No mystery could confound him for that long! What  
am I supposed to believe, then? That he's really dead, and that  
his father has led me, and everyone else to believe that he's  
alive just so that he can catch the killer himself?"  
  
Conan looked into her tearstained face. "No," he whispered.   
  
"Then what?" she asked him softly, her voice hitching with  
grief. "I don't want to believe it, but at least it's an  
explanation that doesn't sound completely... impossible..." And  
she slumped forward, sobbing into her hands.  
  
Conan sat transfixed for a terrible moment, staring at Ran's  
weeping form, immobilized by his own fear and misery. Then,  
slowly, he stood and went to her side and knelt next to her.   
"Ran-nee-chan," he whispered brokenly.  
  
He wanted to take her in his arms and say, It's me, Ran.   
I'm not dead, I'm right here, I'm with you, please, please don't  
cry.  
  
But he couldn't. Because Inspector Megure and Officer  
Takagi were sitting right there, in awkward, resigned silence.  
  
And because someone, somehow, knew his secret.  
  
The Dark Syndicate. They knew he was alive. And they were  
trying to find him.  
  
  
~*~  
  
To be continued.  
  
Next:   
The Case of the Missing Detective  
File 03: Hidden Betrayal 


	3. Hidden Betrayal

The Case of the Missing Detective  
A Detective Conan Fanfic  
by Krista Perry  
  
File 03: Hidden Betrayal  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
Shinichi was dead?  
  
Ran felt her world collapsing around her, like a crystal  
shattered from within by a note of pure, agonizing sound; an  
inner scream of anguish.   
  
Shinichi... dead. Brutally murdered on that night so long  
ago, when he took her to the amusement park.  
  
Had she been deceived all this time? The phone calls, his  
brief appearance at the locked room murder case several months  
ago, and then the day she spent with him last month... Was it all  
just Shinichi's father in disguise, trying to fool everyone into  
believing that his son was still alive, while he tracked down the  
killer himself?  
  
It made a twisted sort of sense, actually. It certainly  
made more sense than... than trying to believe that Conan was  
actually Shinichi, somehow transformed into a child.   
  
And Ran could feel Conan standing next to her. She could  
feel the boy's desire to reach out and comfort her, and as the  
culmination of months of fear, loneliness and grief tore from her  
in wrenching sobs, she found herself wanting to turn and pull the  
child into her arms and cry on his shoulder. But...  
  
...but, no. She didn't want to be comforted by Conan.   
  
Because, if her crazy suspicions were correct, and he  
actually *was* Shinichi... then it was apparent that he would  
rather let her believe he was dead, murdered by some vengeful  
madman, than be honest with her.  
  
And if he *wasn't* Shinichi... if he was truly just a little  
boy who was merely wise beyond his years... then the chances were  
very good that the anonymous tipster wasn't lying. Which meant  
that Shinichi *was* dead, and had been dead for a very long time.  
  
And if that was the case, then there was nothing Conan could  
do to comfort her anyway.  
  
"Miss Ran," Officer Takagi said. The young policeman looked  
distraught and unsettled in the face of her grief. "Please  
remember... this information hasn't been verified. As of yet,  
there is no physical evidence to back up the tipster's claims.   
We still don't know for sure whether or not he was lying."  
  
"That's right, Ran-nee-chan." Conan's voice was strained  
with false optimism. "It's all some sort of hoax. I... I'm sure  
Shinichi-nii-chan is just fine."  
  
She looked up at him, wiping tears from her face with  
shaking fingers. Conan gave her a small, hesitant half-smile  
that she felt was meant to be encouraging. And yet, the quiet  
misery that she could see lurking within his eyes was haunting.  
  
This was upsetting him too, she realized. And she suddenly  
felt bad for not turning to him sooner; for not wanting to accept  
his comfort. No matter who this strange, intelligent child was,  
she knew from long experience that he couldn't bear to see her in  
any kind of distress.  
  
"How can you be sure?" she whispered.  
  
"Because," he said, "I saw him at the restaurant too,  
remember? As he was leaving." Conan's voice faltered as he  
looked down at his feet. "He... he looked really upset... as if  
leaving was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do...   
And... do you remember?" Conan looked up at her, then, with  
Shinichi's eyes; and with all of Shinichi's intensity. "He told  
me to tell you... he's going to come back. No matter what it  
takes, he'll come back. Do you remember that?"  
  
Ran nodded, swallowing back stinging in her throat. "I  
remember."  
  
"Then think about it," Conan said. "If he was actually  
Shinichi's father in disguise, why would he say that? It doesn't  
make any sense to make a promise like that, if he wasn't really  
Shinichi."  
  
Ran hadn't thought about that. It was true, though.   
Shinichi had promised to come back. And not only that, he had  
asked her to wait for him... no matter what.  
  
Conan must have seen the dawning realization on her face.   
"You see?" he said. "The tipster is lying." His young  
countenance was serious and grave, emphasizing the conviction in  
his voice. "Ran... Shinichi isn't dead. He was there with you  
that night at the restaurant. And he *will* come back to you.   
No matter what."  
  
Ran blinked back her tears. She felt, as she looked at him,  
that there were two levels to their conversation. The one on the  
surface, that was just words, and the one just underneath the  
surface, where the true meaning lay hidden.  
  
"Do you mean it?" she asked.  
  
Conan held her gaze, and nodded once, briefly. "I swear,"  
he said solemnly.  
  
And with those two words, Ran inexplicably felt a flicker of  
hope ignite in her heart once again.  
  
"Ahem..." Inspector Megure cleared his throat  
uncomfortably. Ran and Conan both blinked, and looked over at  
the two policemen, who were staring at them with bemused  
expressions. Officer Takagi in particular was staring at Conan  
with wide, surprised eyes.  
  
Conan noticed the odd looks. *Uh-oh.* He realized that, in  
his desperation to comfort Ran, he had unconsciously slipped back  
into his old mannerisms. Quickly, with the ease of long  
practice, he shed his adult expression and speaking patterns, and  
played the innocent 7-year-old for all he was worth.   
  
"I mean... that's what Shinichi-nii-chan promised," he said,  
his voice rising to a more childish pitch as he looked up at the  
two men with wide, guileless eyes. He gave a weak, nervous  
laugh, noticing that Takagi was still giving him a strange look.   
"He told me all of that himself, right before he left. And he  
told me to tell Ran. Nee-chan," he added hastily.  
  
Inwardly, he groaned. *Oh, real smooth, Kudo,* he berated  
himself.  
  
"That is... an interesting point, Conan," Megure said,  
eyeing him thoughtfully. "One that we will take into  
consideration as we continue our investigation. I suppose it  
does make sense that, if the person we all saw that night was  
actually Yusaku Kudo, he wouldn't have promised Ran that his son  
would return for certain -- especially if he believed Shinichi  
was dead. So it stands to reason that Shinichi was actually  
there that night. At least, I hope so." He sighed heavily, and  
rubbed the bridge of his nose. "However, that doesn't change the  
fact that our anonymous tipster might still pose a serious threat  
to the Kudo family."  
  
Conan looked up at the inspector. "What do you plan to do?"  
  
"Well, we've been trying to contact Kudo-san, of course, but  
he is a difficult man to track down at the best of times, because  
of his traveling habits."  
  
*Yeah,* thought Conan, with no small amount of bitterness.   
*And because he likes to hide from his publishers, so they can't  
nag him about deadlines.*   
  
He wished that he could mention to the inspector how  
unlikely he thought it was that, were he ever actually murdered,  
his father would bother taking such elaborate pains to hunt down  
the killer himself -- especially considering that both of his  
parents played only incidental roles in his life. They had moved  
out of Japan to further their own careers when he was fourteen,  
and left him alone to raise himself. And now, even though his  
parents were fully aware of his current predicament, they seemed  
to find his plight more amusing than anything else, which annoyed  
him to no end.  
  
"We would also like to question Professor Agasa," Megure  
continued, "since he lives next door to the Kudo residence, and  
since, out of all of us, he probably knows the Kudos best.   
Speaking of which," he said, getting to his feet, "we should  
probably be going."  
  
"Yes," agreed Officer Takagi, glancing at Conan. "I think  
we've learned all we need to know here." He stood as well, and  
bowed to Ran in a rather sheepish, but sincere apology. "I'm  
very sorry that we upset you," he said. "And I promise, we will  
do our best to get to the bottom of this. We will keep you  
appraised of our progress."  
  
Ran managed to give the young officer a small smile. "Thank  
you."  
  
"And Conan," Takagi said, looking down at the boy, "before  
we go, could I have a word with you?"  
  
"Eh?" Conan blinked in surprise as Takagi knelt down to  
speak with him on eye level.  
  
"Now, I realize that you're a smart kid," the young  
policeman said with a smile. "Heck, Officer Sato still can't get  
over how you helped us solve that murder case with the knife in  
the bookshelf. She talks about it all the time at the precinct."  
  
Conan had a bad feeling about this conversation, and on top  
of that, the last thing he needed right now was for the  
well-meaning officer to point out just how unnaturally brilliant  
he was. In that particular case, he hadn't been able to use an  
adult to disguise the truth of where the clues to solving the  
case were coming from, and it had apparently made an impression.   
He needed a distraction, and quick. Fortunately, Takagi had just  
provided him with the perfect material.   
  
"Neh, Officer Takagi," he asked with all the childlike  
innocence he could muster. "Is Officer Sato your girlfriend  
yet?"  
  
Ran gasped at his presumptuousness. "Conan!"  
  
Takagi blinked, then blushed right down to the roots of his  
hair. "Uh... well, I... that is... we've gone out to dinner a  
few times, but... I, uh..."  
  
"Takagi, is this going to take long?" asked Inspector  
Megure, who was standing at the door. His impatient scowl was  
softened by the mild humor glinting in his eyes.  
  
The flustered officer shook his head. "No, sir." He turned  
back to Conan, struggling to regain his bearings, the blush still  
pinking his cheeks, while Conan did his best to look clueless.   
"Look, Conan. I just wanted to say... I know that you and your  
friends like playing detective --"  
  
Conan tried not to bristle. *Playing?!*  
  
"-- but it's dangerous for children your age to be out  
looking for trouble like that." Takagi sighed. "You probably  
don't remember, but both Officer Sato and I were there at the  
cave when you were shot by those robbers about a month and a half  
ago. If it hadn't been for Professor Agasa contacting the police  
in time for us to get there and apprehend the criminals, well..."   
He trailed off, but he didn't need to finish.  
  
And Conan paused. He *hadn't* remembered Takagi or Sato  
being there, but then he had been busy bleeding to death at the  
time, so his observation skills hadn't exactly been up to their  
usual standards. His side twinged at the memory of bullet  
passing through him... He had been in many life-threatening  
situations before, but that had been the closest he'd ever come  
to actually dying.   
  
And now, looking at Officer Takagi, he felt guilty for  
flustering him, when it was apparent from the earnest look on his  
face that the man was sincerely worried about him.  
  
"We just don't want to see anything bad happen to you."   
Takagi regarded him seriously. "And I don't mean to scare you,  
but with this anonymous tipster apparently out to get the Kudo  
family... Well, we know you're a relative of theirs, and so...   
Just... be careful, okay? Don't go off anywhere by yourself.   
Even with your friends, make sure you stick to public areas. And  
whatever you do, *don't* think of this visit as an invitation for  
you to start your own investigation into this matter."  
  
*Yeah, right,* Conan thought. *If only you knew what you're  
_really_ dealing with.* "No, sir," he said obediently. "I  
won't."   
  
He suddenly felt Ran's hand on his shoulder. As it  
tightened around him possessively, he looked up at her to see  
that her face was once again pale with worry.  
  
"You don't really think he might actually come after Conan,  
do you?" she asked.   
  
Takagi stood, and shrugged uneasily. "Honestly," he said,  
"we can't be sure until we find this man, and discover his  
motives for claiming to have killed Shinichi. But better safe  
and forewarned, than sorry. In the meantime, I'd keep a close  
eye on this one." And he reached over and ruffled Conan's hair.  
  
Conan suffered the indignity with practiced stoicism. But  
one glance up at the sudden fierce determination on Ran's face,  
while feeling the subtle tightening of her grip on his shoulder,  
and he was boiling inside with frustration. *Great. Just great.   
He's got Ran worked up to full-blown mother-hen mode. This whole  
mess has just gotten a lot more difficult.*  
  
Which was probably the understatement of the year. Already,  
as Ran graciously saw Takagi and Megure out the door, his  
thoughts were churning the situation over in his mind at light  
speed.  
  
The Dark Syndicate knew he was alive, or at least they  
suspected. Which was strange, since Ai had told him that, while  
she was still with the Syndicate, she had altered his records to  
show that he was "Deceased," instead of "Status Unknown," so that  
they would stop investigating his whereabouts.  
  
Which meant that they had discovered that he was alive some  
other way.  
  
There wasn't a moment to lose. As soon as Ran turned in for  
the night, he had to sneak over to Professor Agasa's house. He  
had to talk to Ai as soon as possible, and find out what she knew  
about what the Syndicate's plans might be...  
  
"Don't even *think* about it, Conan."  
  
Conan started guiltily, and looked up to see Ran leaning  
over him with a disapproving frown on her face.  
  
"Uh... Think about what, Ran-nee-chan?" he asked, all wide  
eyes and innocence.  
  
But she wasn't having any of it. "You can't fool me," she  
said sternly. "I can tell by the look on your face that you were  
thinking about investigating that anonymous tip. And right after  
Officer Takagi told you not to!"  
  
Conan suppressed a wince. *Ha... she knows me too well.*   
Then, before he even respond, she knelt before him, and grasped  
his shoulders gently with both hands, looking intently into his  
face. He swallowed hard as he saw her eyes, glimmering with  
wetness, and still red-rimmed from crying.  
  
"Please, Conan," she said. "Please stay out of this. I  
know you're curious, and I know that you're smart... I know that  
Shinichi taught you how to use deductive reasoning, and that you  
look up to him a lot... but Officer Takagi is right. No matter  
how smart you are... you're still just a little boy."  
  
Conan closed his eyes, a pained expression flitting across  
his face. *...just a little boy...* He heard those words all  
the time now, but it always seemed to sting just a bit more,  
coming from her.  
  
"I almost lost you once," Ran continued, her voice thin with  
distress. "If anything were to happen to you again, I don't know  
what I would do. And... and with this threat against  
Shinichi..." She trailed off, swallowing hard, before offering  
him a tremulous smile. "Please, Conan. This isn't fun and  
games. This sounds so dangerous. Promise me that you'll stay  
away from it. Promise me that you won't go off with your friends  
and try to solve this mystery."  
  
Conan slowly looked up at her, child mask in place, and  
smiled wanly. "I promise," he said, "that I won't go off with my  
friends to solve this mystery."  
  
Ran frowned slightly. "Or by yourself," she amended.   
"Promise me."  
  
*Damn.* Conan's phoney smile faltered. *I can't promise  
that, Ran.* The first promise was easy to make. There was no  
way in the world he wanted to get the kids involved in this  
dangerous situation. But he was at the very center of this new  
crisis, and to just ignore it went against every fiber of his  
being, especially when the danger was so close, and so real.   
  
But, looking into Ran's face, it was plain to him that she  
would not be placated by anything less than a promise from him --  
a promise to stand by and do nothing, while the Dark Syndicate  
relentlessly closed in on him like starving wolves around wounded  
prey.   
  
A familiar, heavy ache built up in his chest. *One more  
lie. Another lie, to add to the lies I've already told her.*  
  
He looked down, unable to meet her expectant gaze. "I... I  
promise," he said. And Ran swept him into a crushing embrace.  
  
"Thank you, Conan," she whispered in his ear. "You don't  
know how much this means to me."  
  
Conan merely closed his eyes, feeling her arms around his  
small body... and silently wished, for the millionth time, that  
he had never followed the man in black on that night so long ago.  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
The digital clock on the bookshelf read 1:56 a.m., its red  
numbers glowing dimly in the darkness of the living room. Ran  
sat quietly on the couch, leaning forward and resting her chin on  
her folded hands. In the silence, she could faintly hear snores  
from her father's room where he had passed out after once again  
coming home late, and drunk. Apparently his errand for Mrs.  
Matsudara included a "detour" to the local bar. He had been so  
drunk, she hadn't even been able to tell him about Inspector  
Megure's visit, and the terrible news he brought...  
  
Well, there would be time for that tomorrow, when he was  
recovering from his hangover.  
  
Ran blinked wearily. Her eyelids were heavy with  
exhaustion, and from the crying she had done earlier, but she  
didn't close them. She watched the clock. And waited.  
  
She almost wasn't surprised when, at exactly 2:00 a.m., the  
door to Conan's room slowly opened. A moment later, tiptoeing on  
stockinged feet, the boy slipped silently down the hallway.  
  
Ran watched him in the darkness, pursing her lips in both  
exasperation and amusement as Conan stopped momentarily, to  
listen at her bedroom door for any sound of stirring within.   
Apparently satisfied that all was silent, he then crept  
stealthily into the living room. He was at the front door,  
standing on tiptoes to reach the doorknob, when she spoke.  
  
"Going somewhere, Conan?"  
  
"GYAAAAA!" Conan yelped, spinning around wildly. The  
skateboard he had been carrying under one arm fell to the floor  
with a noisy clatter.  
  
Ran calmly leaned over and switched on the nearby lamp.   
Both she and Conan flinched at the sudden flood of light, but  
even so, she could still see Conan leaning heavily with his back  
against the door, gulping and clutching at his chest as he stared  
at her wide eyed.  
  
"Ra... Ran-nee-chan," he gasped. "You... you scared me."  
  
As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see that the  
boy was fully dressed, and even wearing his backpack. She raised  
an eyebrow at him. "A bit early to be heading out for school,  
don't you think?"  
  
"I... I..." Conan stuttered, one hand slipping behind his  
head in a nervous gesture. "I... couldn't sleep, so I was, uh...  
was just..."  
  
"Going out for a little early morning skateboarding?" she  
finished sweetly.  
  
"Uh... a-heh..." Conan laughed weakly, slumping in  
abashment.  
  
Ran frowned. "Conan, you promised me. And where on earth  
do you think you could go at this time of night? Even if there  
wasn't some maniac out to get the Kudo family, don't you realize  
how dangerous it is for a child to be out on the streets this  
late?"  
  
Conan looked up at her meekly. "I... I'm sorry, Ran-nee-  
chan. I was just... going over to Professor Agasa's house."  
  
She eyed him skeptically. "At two 'o clock in the morning?"  
  
"It's true," he protested. "And Professor Agasa is always  
up late. When he gets working on an invention, he forgets to go  
to bed, so I know I wouldn't be waking him up."  
  
"Well, that may be," Ran said, "but that doesn't mean that  
*you* should be up at such an unearthly hour. And you've got  
school tomorrow as well."  
  
"So do you," Conan countered.  
  
She sighed. "Well," she admitted reluctantly, and she gave  
him a small, sad smile. "I... couldn't sleep either."  
  
Conan's countenance crumpled with understanding. "Oh."  
  
"Go back to bed, Conan," Ran said gently. "You can visit  
Professor Agasa tomorrow, okay?"  
  
"O... okay." Conan looked up at her apprehensively.   
"Are... are you mad at me?"  
  
Ran smiled tiredly. "No, I'm not mad at you," she said.   
"Just... try a bit harder, from now on, to keep your promise,  
okay?"  
  
Conan flushed, and looked down at his shoes. "Okay," he  
whispered. Bending over to pick up his fallen skateboard, he  
glanced up at her. "Aren't you going to bed?"  
  
"I will in a little while," she replied. "Don't worry about  
me. I'll be fine."  
  
The disbelief on Conan's face was plain. She laughed  
tiredly. "Really. Now go to sleep."  
  
Conan turned away reluctantly, and trudged down the hall.   
When he reached his bedroom door, he turned back to look at her.   
"Goodnight, Ran-nee-chan."  
  
She smiled as she leaned over to turn off the lamp. The  
living room once again plunged into darkness.  
  
"Goodnight, Conan."  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
Frustrated, thwarted, and feeling thoroughly ashamed of  
himself, Conan lay in his futon and stared up at the dark  
ceiling. His head ached, and his eyes burned from lack of sleep,  
but he couldn't relax. His mind felt like it was spinning in  
useless circles.  
  
*Outmaneuvered by an over-protective girl,* he thought.  
  
With a heavy, resigned sigh, he rolled over onto his side.   
The glow from the street lamps outside his window filtered  
through his closed curtains, casting the small room in a dismal,  
deep-shadowed gray.   
  
*I am such a coward,* he thought. *I should just tell her.*  
  
*But I can't,* he argued with himself, for the thousandth  
time. *I can't, because someone in the Dark Syndicate knows that  
I'm alive, or at least they suspect. They are most definitely  
trying to flush me out of hiding with this phony tip about my  
death. And until I discover how they found out, and figure out a  
way to stop them altogether, I'm in danger. Ran, Professor  
Agasa, Ai, the kids... we're all in danger.  
  
*Not telling Ran... it's not cowardice, it's preserving her  
safety. Those men murdered Ai's sister without a second thought.   
I've no doubt they would do the same to anyone they thought I  
might care about, just to get...*  
  
The thought froze in his head as, outside on the street,  
Conan heard the whispering approach of a lone car. He  
instinctively tensed, fighting the urge to jump up and peek out  
the curtains, to see who would be driving past the Mouri  
residence at this time of night.  
  
Was it them? Had they found him already?! He could already  
imagine them, dressed in their trademark black, storming up the  
stairway to the apartment, breaking down the door, opening fire  
with automatic weapons and riddling the place with bullets  
before quickly escaping again into the night...  
  
But even as his sudden rapid heartbeat thudded in his ears  
in time with the gunfire in his imagination, he heard the car  
pass without pausing.  
  
The breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding escaped  
through his lips in a sigh. "Great," he muttered. "Now I'm  
paranoid."  
  
*You can never be too paranoid,* Ai had once told him. *Not  
where the Syndicate is concerned. They have eyes everywhere.   
Their hands are in everything. And one of these days, when they  
use the assassination drug, and it shrinks another person instead  
of killing them... they will figure out what happened to us. And  
we will probably both be dead within the day.*  
  
Conan closed his eyes against the image of the ex-Syndicate  
member in his mind, remembering the unnaturally cool, emotionless  
expression on her child face as she casually discussed their  
potential death at the hands of her former employers.  
  
*Is that what happened?* he wondered. *Have they finally  
discovered the fluke in the drug?*  
  
The thought sent a cold thrill of fear down his spine.   
Shivering, Conan slipped out of his futon and began to pace the  
room, unable to lie still a moment longer. He cast a brief,  
longing glance at the soccer ball resting in the shadowed corner  
by his bureau. The exercise of kicking it around, keeping it  
bouncing from toe to head to heel and back again without touching  
the ground, had always helped clear his head when he needed to  
focus. There was no way he could do it at this time of night  
without disturbing Ran, so he resigned himself to pacing.  
  
Was it possible that the Syndicate had discovered his  
secret, then? But no... if they had discovered the regressing  
power of the drug, why involve the police?   
  
There was the most perplexing problem. Why call the police  
and claim that they had killed him, and thus start an  
investigation that might lead back to them? They had always been  
so cautious about covering their tracks before...  
  
So they probably didn't yet know the truth about the drug.   
And yet, somehow, they knew they hadn't managed to kill him that  
night at the amusement park. How?   
  
Could they somehow have gotten wind of his brief  
reappearance as Shinichi a month back? Conan grimaced. That was  
a likely explanation. Megure, Takagi, and the other officers who  
had seen him at the school play murder, and then the next night  
at the restaurant murder, had promised, as usual, to keep his  
name out of the investigation. But hundreds of his fellow  
classmates had seen him at the play. And even though Heiji had  
extracted a promise from the student body to stay quiet about the  
murder to maintain their school's dignity, the likelihood that  
everyone would be able to withstand the temptation of gossiping  
about how he solved the murder was... was...  
  
He sighed. The likelihood was virtually non-existent. Ai  
had *warned* him that he should stay disguised, and talk to Ran  
in private, but no. Once he heard the scream ring out in the  
audience, the itch of the mystery was upon him, and he just *had*  
to go and get himself involved, in spite of all the common sense  
that said it was a stupid and dangerous thing to do.  
  
Was that one, glorious, dramatic moment of his unmasking, in  
front of hundreds of witnesses, going to be his undoing?  
  
*Genius detective you might be,* Ai's voice came back to  
him, mocking. *But in other things, you are a complete fool.*  
  
He clenched his teeth... and couldn't help but agree with  
her.  
  
But still... even if someone at the school had leaked  
information about his presence at the school play murder, and it  
somehow reached Syndicate ears... *why* would the Syndicate  
involve the police? It didn't make any sense.  
  
He clenched his fists, and fought the urge to punch the  
wall. He was missing something important. Something vital. And  
it was driving him crazy.  
  
Well. At least he would see Ai at school tomorrow. He  
could talk to her then, and maybe the missing pieces would fall  
into place.  
  
With a sigh, he went back to lay down on his futon, knowing  
that he should probably at least try to get some sleep, so that  
he wouldn't feel groggy tomorrow.  
  
But, as he stared into the darkness, seeds of fear growing  
within him like sharp, thorny weeds around his heart, sleep was a  
long time in coming.  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
2:35 a.m.  
Club Matsudai, somewhere in downtown Tokyo  
~*~  
  
"So it's true then. He is alive."  
  
"Well, that's what the evidence -- as outrageous as it seems  
-- would indicate."  
  
"And your 'source,' of whom you are so protective... You  
are sure this information is trustworthy?"  
  
"My 'source' would not dare give me false information, sir.   
There would be... consequences."  
  
"I see. Well, you have never failed me before. If you  
trust this information, I will take you at your word."  
  
"... Thank you, sir."  
  
"My, but this is amusing. To think that he has been  
presumed dead all this time, when he was actually hiding in plain  
sight, right under their noses."  
  
"Are you going to tell them?"  
  
"Ha! And let this opportunity slip through my grasp? I  
don't think so."  
  
"You want to proceed as planned, then?"  
  
"Of course. As usual, you have my people at your disposal."  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
"Oh, and Ichiro-kun..."  
  
"Yes sir?"  
  
"If Kudo is truly as brilliant as they say... Well, don't  
do anything stupid."  
  
"No sir."  
  
"There would be, as you say... consequences."  
  
"... Yes sir. Don't worry, sir. Everything will go as  
planned. Kudo won't even know what hit him."  
  
  
~*~  
  
To be continued.  
  
Coming Soon:  
The Case of the Missing Detective  
File 04: Eclipse  
  
  
  



End file.
